Will you give me some good tips for transplanting daffodils?

Our dear neighbors on the NC coast are selling their beach home to go into assisted living. I've been invited to dig up any small plants, bushes, perennnials, etc. Will the "buttercups" make the trip in a bucket of damp soil? I assume I should go ahead, cut them back, and plant them now. Any real gardeners with a free moment? I would really like to see the daffodils bloom for many Springs to come, and it would mean so much, knowing they came from their yard. Thank you. How deeply should I shovel to safely remove the mature bulbs?

Will you give me some good tips for transplanting daffodils?
Daffodil bulbs don't just have to be planted in the ground. They work exceptionally well in pots and containers also and may even be easier to care for when planted in pots. The benefit of growing them in containers is that they're easy to identify where they're positioned unlike in a garden setting.



We chose to naturalise ours under a bed of dichondra amongst some silver birch trees because we knew they wouldn't obstruct any other gardening ventures in that position. Many gardeners have noted that they inadvertently dig their daffodil bulbs up mistakenly thinking it was a free space for another plant.



If you decide to plant daffodil bulbs in the soil ensure that you have some way of identifying the position later down the track. Prepare the soil well by aerating it with a garden fork and working in some composted material and an organic fertiliser such as manure or blood and bone.



Using a small garden shovel or bulb planter to dig a hole 2 times the height of the daffodil bulb. You should be able to place another daffodil bulb on top of the one your planting as a guide for knowing how far to dig the hole. Cover the hole with the remaining soil and pat down. Water in well.



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Reply:Put your shovel as deep as you can into the ground. pull back and gently pry them out of the ground. this will give you an idea of how far they are in the ground. Get as much bulb/root as you can.(dont worry about dirt) place them in a bucket of wet soil for transport. Replant at same depth you found them and keep well watered, so they dont droop (shock from being dug up) and they should do fine...... good luck to you and your neighbors.
Reply:As long as you have any kind of bulb it will grow. Don't worry about the plant part. It starts at the bulb. And if you know someone with cow manure sprinkle some in the hole to boost nitro level. I transplant all the time. Ditch dive as my daughter calls it. Coffee grounds dried out with the filter is also a good nitro leveler. Not alot though. They will spring up next year. And you should every two years spreading them out. You can seperate any pile of bulbs as they grow thicker as time goes